Jeff Gaynor of The Heritage Foundation briefed participants
on the role of the U.S. Information Agency and Heritage Foundation
recommendations for reforming the agency, including funding cuts
of approximately 40-50%. Contact Heritage Foundation at 202/546-4400.

Vietnam Veteran & Security Consultant Reviews McNamara's
New Book

Col. Sam Dickens (USAF-Ret.), a former Fighter Squadron Commander
in Vietnam and a Washington defense and foreign affairs consultant,
reviewed and commented extensively on Robert McNamara's new book
In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. "[The
book] isn't a mea culpa. It's a justification of his actions as
Secretary of Defense that led to such a disaster for the United
States," said Dickens, who said that NcNamara's underlying
thesis is that McNamara was right in his point of view but wrong
in that he failed to convince LBJ of this position. The book,
Dickens said, "is full of extraordinary statements,"
such as that there were no Far East experts in the U.S. government
at that time, and, he said, the book repeatedly shows that LBJ,
General Westmoreland and others wanted to win the war, but McNamara
"squashed" their efforts. "We lost a lot of fighter
pilots" because the bomb targeting strategy was decided by
the Secretary of Defense and White House, Dickens said, concluding:
"It's a very important book and it does show why Desert Storm
was fought the way it was fought -- with a definite objective.
I do recommend the book -- I hope people realize [because of it]
the damage one man can do."

Group Seeks a National "Victims of Communism" Memorial
Museum on the Washington Mall

Maritza Alvarez of Americans for Tax Reform reviewed her organization's
plans to promote the construction of a "Victims of Communism"
museum in the tradition of the Holocaust Museum on the Mall in
Washington, D.C. She reported that the Congress has already approved,
and the President signed, legislation authorizing a formal Memorial
to the Victims of Communism, but said that the President needs
to authorize a formal Commission to make the memorial happen,
"or it won't." She invited interested persons and organizations
to get involved in the Memorial project. Contact Americans for
Tax Reform at 202/785-0266.

Bulletin Board

Publications, press releases, statements and plans of the conservative
community.

Amy Moritz, President of the conservative National Center for
Public Policy Research, on April 24 criticized what she termed
"President Clinton's utterly irresponsible decision to equate
the expression of views contrary to his own on the talk radio
medium as the moral antecedent of mass murder. The President has
a responsibility to lead, not to divide. Instead, he served up
a de facto blanket condemnation of the millions of conservative
Americans today who participate in talk radio as listeners, callers
and hosts, today saying, in part 'They spread hate, they leave
the impression by their very words that violence is acceptable.
I'm sure you're now seeing the reports of some of the things that
are regularly said over the airwaves today. Well, people like
that who want to share our freedoms must know that their bitter
words can have consequences.' According to a Reuter's report,
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes told reporters
after the President's remarks that the President wasn't singling
out any one individual or talk radio program - so that tells us
that the President's harsh words were meant to paint large numbers
of Americans as morally complicit in the Oklahoma bombing. The
Oklahoma bombing was a crime brought about by murderers; that
is, people who set out to murder - not by people who set out to
have a radio conversation about the policies that are best for
our nation. There can be no excuse for what the President has
done. To accuse millions of people of complicity in the bombing
is to escalate the tragedy. Yesterday, it was a crime. Today,
it is a crime coupled with an accusation of murder that sets groups
of Americans against one another and creates a situation that
is a virtual recipe for continued violence. This afternoon, in
Sacramento, a package bomb went off in the offices of an organization
that promotes what some would call the conservative perspective
on environmental issues. Today the President called conservatives
complicit in murder by bombing and today a conservative is murdered
by a bomb. Did some deluded soul believe the President's words
and set out to obtain 'eye for an eye' justice? It is too soon
to know, but one thing is certain: conservative Americans now
are in the sad state of wondering if the next day's mail will
bring a bomb of retribution into their mailbox and that the President
of the United States might have tacitly encouraged the bomber
to put it there. The President is charged with leading the nation
- but absolutely not with leading the nation to violence. The
President should withdraw his remarks immediately." Contact
The National Center for Public Policy Research at (202) 507-6398.

National Talk Show Host Calls on President to "Either
Name Me or Exonerate Me"

Nationally-syndicated radio talk show host Michael Reagan,
a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association
of Radio Talk Show Hosts, issued on April 24 a statement in response
to President Clinton's comments of the same day about radio talk
shows: "Our feelings of grief and sadness in the face of
the tragedy in Oklahoma cannot be expressed with mere words. Our
anger toward those responsible is tempered only with our belief
in God's justice. And yet, even as rescue workers continue to
risk their lives in the wreckage of the Federal Building, our
President lashes out indiscriminately at those of us who make
our livelihoods from listening to and talking with the American
people. It is unfortunate, but not unexpected, that this President
chose to do a political dance even before those killed in this
tragedy are laid to rest. After listening to the hateful rhetoric
that the President spoke today, I ask the President to either
name me or exonerate me, but not to paint me with his broad brush.
I ask the President to personally apologize to me and my listeners."
Contact Paul Wilkinson at 213/466-2900.

Gun Owners of America Says:

Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, on
April 24 released a statement saying, in part, "We support
the President's decision that whoever bombed the Federal Building
in Oklahoma City must be dealt with swiftly and severely... The
senseless death of men, women and children cannot and should not
be tolerated in this society. The individuals who are responsible
for such carnage and death should receive the death penalty. However,
we must not demonize law-abiding citizens for the actions of extremists.
The bombing in Oklahoma was the work of demented individuals.
It is wrong to put the blame for the evil committed in Oklahoma
on the unorganized militias, just as it was wrong to blame the
bombing by the Weathermen on the law-abiding protestors against
the Vietnam War. Likewise, one cannot demonize the civil rights
movement because of the violence of the Black Panthers..."
Contact Gun Owners of America at 703/321-8585.

Scoop is published by The National Center for Public Policy
Research to provide information about the activities of the conservative
movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement in Scoop does not
imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy Research.
1995 The National Center for Public Policy Research.

Issue 96 * June 19, 1995

Activities at the June 9 Environmental Policy Task Force Meeting
chaired by David Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy
Research. Sponsored by The National Center for Policy Research
((202) 507-6398).

Tricia Law of the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee reviewed disinformation being given to the public regarding
the content of the Clean Water Act Amendments, and distributed
a handout "The Clean Water Amendments of 1995: Separating
Fact From Fiction." Among the items in the handout: 1) a
March 23 statement by EPA Administrator Carol Browner that the
legislation "undermines 20 years of success in our clean
water programs" (in fact, says the handout, the bill keeps
the same water quality standards while increasing water quality
funding from $1.2 billion to $2.5 billion annually); 2) a New
York Times March 22 statement that the legislation "backs
away from programs to control polluted runoff from farms and city
streets... and makes the program essentially voluntary" (in
fact, says the handout, the legislation only allows voluntary
programs for facilities where rainfall does not come into contact
with pollutants). The handout reviews the truth of five other
claims. Law said that President Clinton has further confused the
debate by confusing the Clean Water Act with the Safe Drinking
Water legislation. The Clean Water Act Amendments include: 1)
requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct
risk accessment/cost-benefit analysis on new regulations; 2) takings
protection; 3) streamlined regulations; 4) charting a definition
of "wetland" that requires a relationship to water;
5) flexibility (allowing the EPA to recognize regional differences
in setting quality standards); 6) providing $15 billion to localities
in water quality funding over 5 years. Contact the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee at 202/225-9446.

* Senate Begins Regulatory Reform Debate June 19

David Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy Research
reviewed the provisions of S. 343, Senator Bob Dole's "Comprehensive
Regulatory Reform Act of 1995." Debate is scheduled to begin
June 19 and may last weeks, he said. Contact The National Center
for Public Policy Research at (202) 507-6398.

* Is America Wasting An Average of $1500 Per Family Annually
to Solve Phantom Problems?

Dr. Fred Singer, founder of the Science and Environmental Policy
Project and former Professor of Environmental Sciences at the
University of Virginia, spoke on the dangers of the Global Climate
Treaty, saying "the problem with the Global Climate Treaty
is that it's like a loaded gun... it could become a very serious
problem." Singer urged the U.S. Senate to withdraw from it,
saying that the "treaty is not backed up in any way by science"
as data increasingly shows that there is no global warming problem.
Singer distributed background information, including a February
1995 Singer speech that says, in part: "The reason [the use
and misuse of science in fashioning environmental policies] is
so important is that such policies have become very costly - approaching
$150 billion per year, or about $1500 per year for the average
U.S. household. And so it has become essential to spend this money
wisely and to real risks and real environmental problems, rather
than to phantom risks and problems... The CFC theory was taken
seriously only after 1985, when the so-called Antarctic 'ozone
hole' was discovered... there are extremists who argue that the
release of CFCs will promote a worldwide catastrophe... their
fertile imagination has invented catastrophes that don't exist.
For example, they have blamed the existence of blind sheep in
Argentina on the Antarctic ozone hole. They have linked the disappearance
of frogs to the depletion of the ozone layer. They have even hinted
that the AIDS epidemic may be related in some way to the destruction
of ozone. All of this is nonsense." Singer also reviewed
the GOP initiative for a new "National Institute for the
Environment," saying it is a bad idea. Contact the Science
& Environmental Policy Project at 703/934-6940.

* No, We're Not Kidding: The U.S. Ratified A Treaty To Ban
the Sale of Used Clothing

Following his introduction by R.J. Smith of the Competitive
Enterprise Institute, Dr. Ray Evans of the Western Mining Center
of Australia, reported on the Basel Convention, an international
environmental trade treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate during
the Bush Administration but not yet in effect because the U.S.
Congress has yet to pass the necessary implementing legislation.
Under the terms of the Basel Convention the population of the
world is divided into two classes (those who are citizens of Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and those who
are not, the latter group being the great majority of the world's
population), and trade in a large range of materials is banned
between those two groups. The Basel Convention Treaty would, quoting
from the treaty preamble, make certain that "hazardous wastes
and other wastes... be disposed of in the state in which they
were generated." The effect of the Treaty would be to ban
international trade in computer scrap, used car batteries, used
clothing and other items. Evans reported that implementation would
ban the $2 billion worth of used clothing that currently goes
from the U.S. to the Third World, and said that this is intentional:
Greenpeace and the European states who initiated Basel fear that
used clothing might contain minute amounts of environmental contaminants,
and thus they seek to ban this trade. Similarly, Evans said, the
conversion of First World computer scrap into other products have
become a significant job creator in India and other Third World
countries, yet this would be banned under Basel. Contact the Competitive
Enterprise Institute at 202/331-1010.

* Endangered Species Act Reforms Reviewed

Myron Ebell of the staff of Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), R.J.
Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Dennis Hollingsworth
of the Riverside, California Farm Bureau discussed the Endangered
Species Recovery Act. Ebell commented that the bill meets Newt
Gingrich's three criterion for environmental legislation: 1) economically
sound; 2) biologically sound; 3) protects property rights. Ebell
noted that the current ESA fails because it encourages people
to engage in practices against species they otherwise would not
engage in. Ebell distributed a handout. Dennis Hollingsworth expressed
his view that environmentalists are "just putting more carrots
on the same stick" by using "incentives" to sweeten
the Endangered Species Act in an attempt to blunt widespread landowner
opposition to it. According to Hollingsworth, "land owners
don't mind having wildlife on their land, they mind having the
Feds on their land," and simply adding "takings"
compensation to current federal policies and practices will not
solve the problems. Contact John Shadeqq's office at 202/225-3361,
the Competitive Enterprise Institute at 202/331-1010 or the Riverside,
California Farm Bureau at 909/684-6732.

A legislative update was given by David Almasi of Defenders
of Property Rights, who distributed a handout showing that 19
states have passed property rights legislation and 48 states introduced
over 120 property rights bills in 1995. Almasi also distributed
information on Clinton Administration Executive Order #12898,
which mandates that all federal agencies promote "environmental
justice." Contact Defenders of Property Rights at 202/686-4197.

John Berlau of Consumer Alert reviewed his article in the current
(June 26) issue of National Review, "Case of the Falling
Sperm Counts." The article reviews claims made by Clinton
Administration Undersecretary of State Tim Wirth and others (including
the ABC TV program 20/20) that sperm counts have dropped by almost
50% since 1940 due to human exposure to man-made chemicals. Berlau
concludes that "fact-butchering" is a greater problem
than mythical sperm count decreases, and explains why. Contact
Consumer Alert at 202/467-5809.

Issue 97 * June 24, 1995

Activities at the June 8 & 22 and May 25 Stanton foreign
and defense policy meetings chaired by Laszlo Pasztor of Coalitions
for America and Amy Moritz of The National Center for Public Policy
Research.

* Senate to Ask: Should Saddam Hussein Be Charged With Genocide?

Douglas Layton of Servant Group International, who has done
relief work in 45 nations and now directs an organization working
with the Kurds in northern Iraq, reviewed Saddam Hussein's "campaign
of genocide" against the Kurds. Layton, who just returned
from a fact-finding tour of Kurdish areas in Iraq and was in D.C.
to brief the U.S. Senate, described the Kurds as "passionately
pro-American" but suffering under both an international embargo
against Iraq and an internal one imposed on the Kurds by Saddam.
Layton, who said Saddam is "purposely starving his own people
to death," is working with Senator Hank Brown (R-CO) on hearings
to investigate whether Saddam should be charged with genocide.
He distributed a detailed information kit. Contact the Servant
Group International at 615/227-8452.

* Are Western Taxpayers Paying to Keep the People's Republic
of China Solvent?

Ingatius Ding of Silicon Valley for Democracy in China, a group
founded by California engineers and executives with an extensive
network within the PRC, reviewed: 1) the deterioration of China's
social order; 2) official corruption; 3) what he termed a "$400
billion telecommunications scam" whereby western businesses
are given lucrative business accounts in China but must first
arrange "loans" from their own governments to pay the
Chinese government's bills; and much more. Ding urged the U.S.
policymakers to examine the PRC's financial state and attach human
rights conditions to MFN status, and distributed information in
both print and VHS form. Contact Silicon Valley for Democracy
in China at 408/446-2011.

* Had Pilot Scott O'Grady Been Captured, He Would Not Have
Been a POW

Bonny Stilwell of the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition reviewed
the "Missing Service Personnel Bill," needed, she said,
because under current policy military personnel captured in situations
in which the Congress has not officially declared war are not
considered to be POWs and thus are not protected by the human
rights safeguards of the Geneva Convention. She noted that pilot
Scott O'Grady, had he been captured, could not have claimed Geneva
Convention protection. Stilwell also reported that on June 29
Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA) will hold hearings into the fate of POWs/MIAs
in Laos. Stilwell predicted "a lot of surprises" at
the 5-panel hearing, although she does not expect it to stop the
Clinton Administration from normalizing relations with Vietnam
as, she said, President Clinton is "dead set" on it.
Contact the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition at 703/360-1173.

* Functions and Budget Levels of Voice of America, USIA and
Other International Programs Reviewed

Bob Reilly of the Voice of America reviewed the benefits of
VOA operations, noting that 70% of the university students in
China listen to the VOA, and explaining how the VOA helps improve
human rights worldwide and the VOA's role in introducing millions
to the pro-democracy, pro-free market viewpoint, and other benefits.
Reilly reported that both the House and the Senate budget plans
call for VOA funding cuts, but the House cuts are far more dramatic:
47%. Reilly said the House cuts would result in cutting the number
of languages VOA broadcasts in by half. Jeff Gaynor of The Heritage
Foundation reported that many U.S. government domestic agencies
have international components. He recommended that the government
consolidate overlapping programs to save money. Contact Voice
of America at 202/619-0786 and The Heritage Foundation at 202/546-4400.

General Milnor Roberts (USAR-Ret.) of High Frontier described
the importance of U.S. military bases in Panama, which, due to
the Panama Canal Treaty, the U.S. will abandon in 1999. He reported
that a proposal to direct the President to open negotiations with
Panama for permission to keep the bases open is in the Foreign
Aid Bill, but noted that the President may veto it for other reasons
and then ignore this issue. Roberts also reviewed a poll showing
that 80% of all Panamanians want the U.S. to keep its military
bases operating. Contact High Frontier at 703/671-4111.

* U.S. Immigration Law & Proposed Changes Reviewed

Col. Sam Dickens (USAF-Ret.) of the National Committee on Immigration
Reform reviewed the recommendations of Barbara Jordan's "
Commission on Immigration Reform," calling it a "pleasant
surprise" although his group "does not endorse all of
it." Contact the National Committe on Immigration Reform
at 703/824-8359.

* News Articles on Vincent Foster; Mena Arkansas Available

Amy Moritz of The National Center for Public Policy Research
distributed several news articles, including: June 16 & 13
articles by Chris Ruddy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and a
June 12 article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the London Sunday
Telegraph on inconsistencies in the investigation into the death
of Vincent Foster, and "The Crimes of Mena" by Sally
Denton and Roger Morris from the July 1995 Penthouse. "The
Crimes of Mena" was originally scheduled to run in the Washington
Post on Sunday, January 29, but was withdrawn at the last minute
without explanation. Contact The National Center for Public Policy
Research at (202) 507-6398.

* U.S. to World: What Is Good for the Goose Is Not Good for
the Gander

Dr. Henry Sokolski of the Nonproliferation Policy Education
Center analyzed the U.S.'s present nuclear non-proliferation strategies,
saying there is "mixed news." The bad news: 1) our inability
to convince Russia and China not to provide nuclear technology
to Iran; 2) our information that Iran is determined to build nuclear
bombs; 3) our continuing difficulties with North Korea. The good
news: Iran's difficulty in financing their nuclear program. Sokolski
the U.S. is asking other nations to take a tough line with Iran
while we take a weak line with North Korea, and this undermines
both our moral argument & our effectiveness in persuading
our allies. Contact the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
at 202/466-4406.

* 2,000 Drug Cartels Operate In Colombia, Analyst Says

Mario Navarro de Costa of Tradition, Family, Property discussed
the domination of Colombia by more then 2,000 drug cartels, and
made suggestions as to how U.S. policy could be improved. Contact
Tradition, Family, Property at 703/892-1810.

* U.S. Policy in the Former Yugoslavia Reviewed

Col. Greg Vuksich (USA), Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies, summarized the conflict in the former
Yugoslavia from the military viewpoint (a presentation he has
made at the Senate and in European capitals on behalf of the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff). Prof. Edward Damich of the National Association
of Croatian-Americans recapped his recent meeting with White House
National Security Advisor Anthony Lake. Captain Joe Mandich (USN-Ret.)
of the Croatian-American Association reviewed Russian intentions
and called for lifting sanctions on Bosnia & Croatia.

* U.S. Relationship with India Reviewed

Dr. Dalton West, Chairman of the U.S. Global Strategy Council,
discussed the economy of India (the size of Holland's), its population
(India will surpass China in population in coming decades), and
India's second most anti-U.S. voting record in the U.N. Contact
the U.S. Global Strategy Council at 202/466-6029.

Scoop is published by The National Center for Public Policy
Research to provide information about the activities of the conservative
movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement in Scoop does not
imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy Research.
_ 1995 The National Center for Public Policy Research.